The effects of self‐explaining when learning with text or diagrams

Self‐explaining is an effective metacognitive strategy that can help learners develop deeper understanding of the material they study. This experiment explored if the format of material (i.e., text or diagrams) influences the self‐explanation effect. Twenty subjects were presented with information about the human circulatory system and prompted to self‐explain; 10 received this information in text and 10 in diagrams. Results showed that students given diagrams performed significantly better on post‐tests than students given text. Diagrams students also generated significantly more self‐explanations that text students. Furthermore, the benefits of self‐explaining were much greater in the diagrams condition. To discover why diagrams can promote the self‐explanation effect, results are interpreted with reference to the multiple differences in the semantic, cognitive and affective properties of the texts and diagrams studied.     

CONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT FOR CARBON MONOXIDE REDUCTION: WITHIN-SUBJECT EFFECTS OF PAY AMOUNT

The relationship between reinforcer amount and daytime smoking reduction in smokers offered money for reduced afternoon breath carbon monoxide (CO) levels was examined. Twenty-three hired regular smokers with average baseline CO levels of about 30 ppm were exposed in random order to five sliding scale payment schedules that changed daily or weekly. Money was available for afternoon CO readings between 0 and 21 ppm with pay amount inversely related to the absolute CO reading obtained. Maximum pay amount for readings below 7 ppm varied among $0, $1.50, $3, $6, and $12 per day. Contingent reinforcement promoted CO and daytime cigarette reduction within individuals with the amount of behavior change related to the amount of payment available. Average CO levels decreased from 30 to 15 ppm as a function of pay amount whereas self-reported daytime cigarettes decreased from 12 to 5 per day. Average minutes of cigarette abstinence prior to the afternoon study contact increased from 62 to 319 minutes as a function of pay amount, whereas the percentage of available money earned increased from 22% to 48%. Nontargeted evening cigarette use also decreased during periods of daytime smoking reduction. The orderly effects of this contingent reinforcement intervention on daytime smoking of regular smoker volunteers suggest that this is a sensitive model for continued evaluation of factors that influence smoking reduction and cessation.     

CO-WORKER SOCIAL SUPPORT IN A WORKSITE SMOKING CONTROL PROGRAM

We evaluated the effects of adding a social support component to a worksite controlled smoking treatment program. Twenty-four participants were randomly assigned to either a controlled smoking or a controlled smoking plus partner support condition. Within a multiple baseline across behaviors design, smokers in both conditions made efforts to achieve sequential 50% reductions in: (a) nicotine content of brand smoked, (b) number of cigarettes smoked per day, and (c) percentage of each cigarette smoked. Self-monitoring records, laboratory analyses of spent cigarette butts, and carbon monoxide determinations indicated that both conditions were effective in producing significant reductions in each of the three target behaviors and in carbon monoxide levels. All participants who quit smoking during the program maintained their abstinence at a 6-month follow-up, and those who did not quit were smoking less at follow-up than they had at pretest on all dependent variables. However, few differences were observed between controlled smoking and controlled smoking plus partner support conditions either during treatment or at the 6-month follow-up. Results are discussed with regard to previous worksite studies, future directions for research on social support, and variables that may have mediated treatment outcome.     

Semilattice-based dualities

The paper discusses regularisation of dualities. A given duality between (concrete) categories, e.g. a variety of algebras and a category of representation spaces, is lifted to a duality between the respective categories of semilattice representations in the category of algebras and the category of spaces. In particular, this gives duality for the regularisation of an irregular variety that has a duality. If the type of the variety includes constants, then the regularisation depends critically on the location or absence of constants within the defining identities. The role of schizophrenic objects is discussed, and a number of applications are given. Among these applications are different forms of regularisation of Priestley, Stone and Pontryagin dualities.     

Physical characteristics of residential psychiatric and substance abuse programs: Organizational determinants and patient outcomes

Described the Physical and Architectural Characteristics Inventory (PACI), which assesses the physical characteristics of hospital- and community-based psychiatric and substance abuse residential treatment programs for adults. Developed using data from 94 representative programs, the PACI has 7 dimensions that assess community accessibility, physical features that add convenience, aid recreation, and provide support for patients, and space for patient and staff functions. In comparison to community-based programs (n=63), hospital programs (n=31) had more social-recreational and prosthetic aids, safety features, staff facilities, and space. The PACI dimensions were also related to other organizational features, such as facility ownership and program size and staffing level. Programs with more physical amenities had patients who were more involved in self-initiated and community activities and were more likely to successfully complete the program and be discharged to independent living situations and paid jobs. Programs with more social-recreational and prosthetic aids, space, and access to community resources also had better patient outcomes. In addition, PACI dimensions were related to observers' ratings of facility attractiveness. Potential applications of the PACI and the full inventory of which it is a part are discussed.     

Characteristics and consequences of help-giving practices in contrasting human services programs

Relationships between human services program models and help-giving practices, and between both program models and help-giving practices and help-seeker control appraisals were examined in a study of 107 low socioeconomic background families. Three kinds of human services agencies were included in the study, each of which differed in terms of their implicit and explicit assumptions about the families they served and the roles professionals and families played as part of helping relationships. Results support the hypotheses that (a) a program philosophy that was family centered would be associated with more empowering help-giving practices compared to more professionally centered philosophies and (b) a family-centered program philosophy and empowering help-giving practices would be related to an enhanced sense of personal control over needed supports and resources from a target help-giver.     

Practice-based competencies for accreditation of and training in graduate programs in genetic counseling

In January 1996, the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) adopted 27 practice-based competencies as a standard for assessing the training of graduate students in genetic counseling. These competencies were identified and refined through a collective, narrative process that took place from January through November 1994, and included directors of graduate programs in genetic counseling, ABGC board members and expert consultants. These competencies now form the basis of the document Requirements for Graduate Programs in Genetic Counseling Seeking Accreditation by the American Board of Genetic Counseling (American Board of Genetic Counseling, 1996). The competencies are organized into four domains and are presented and discussed in this article.The Consortium includes Directors of established graduate programs in genetic counseling and members of the ABGC Board of Directors who participated in the Consensus Development Conference held in January, 1994: Diane Baker (University of Michigan/ABGC); Bonnie Baty (ABGC); Joan Burns (University of Wisconsin); Debra Collins (ABGC); Virginia Corson (ABGC); Beth Fine (Northwestern University/ABGC); Elizabeth Gettig (University of Pittsburgh); Verle Headings (Howard University); Jacqueline Hecht (University of Texas); Carl Huether (University of Cincinnati); Bonnie LeRoy (University of Minnesota); Joan Marks (Sarah Lawrence College); Anne Matthews (University of Colorado); Roberta Palmour (McGill University); Lorna Phelps (Medical College of Virginia); Kimberly Quaid (Indiana University); Joan Scott (ABGC); Ann Smith (ABGC); Helen Travers (ABGC); Judith Tsipis (Brandeis University); Ann Walker (University of California-Irvine/ABGC); Jon Weil (University of California-Berkeley); S. Robert Young (University of South Carolina); Randi Zinberg (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York).     

A case-based approach to the development of practice-based competencies for accreditation of and training in graduate programs in genetic counseling

The American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC) sponsored a consensus development conference with participation from directors of graduate programs in genetic counseling, board members, and expert consultants. Using a collective, narrative, and case-based approach, 27 competencies were identified as embedded in the practice of genetic counseling. These competencies were organized into four domains of skills: Communication; Critical Thinking; Interpersonal, Counseling, and Psychosocial Assessment; and Professional Ethics and Values. The adoption of a competency framework for accreditation has a variety of implications for curriculum design and implementation. We report here the process by which a set of practice-based genetic counseling competencies have been derived; and in an accompanying article, the competencies themselves are provided. We also discuss the application of the competencies to graduate program accreditation as well as some of the implications competency-based standards may have for education and the genetic counseling profession. These guidelines may also serve as a basis for the continuing education of practicing genetic counselors and a performance evaluation tool in the workplace.The Consortium includes Directors of established graduate programs in genetic counseling and members of the ABGC Board of Directors who participated in the Consensus Development Conference held in January 1994: Diane Baker (University of Michigan/ABGC); Bonnie Baty (ABGC); Joan Burns (University of Wisconsin); Debra Collins (ABGC); Virginia Corson (ABGC); Beth Fine (Northwestern University/ABGC); Elizabeth Gettig (University of Pittsburgh); Verle Headings (Howard University); Jacqueline Hecht (University of Texas); Carl Huether (University of Cincinnati); Bonnie LeRoy (University of Minnesota); Joan Marks (Sarah Lawrence College); Anne Matthews (University of Colorado); Roberta Palmour (McGill University); Lorna Phelps (Medical College of Virginia); Kimberly Quaid (Indiana University); Joan Scott (ABGC); Ann Smith (ABGC); Helen Travers (ABGC); Judith Tsipis (Brandeis University); Ann Walker (University of California-Irvine/ABGC); Jon Weil (University of California-Berkeley); S. Robert Young (University of South Carolina); Randi Zinberg (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York).     

THE BEHAVIOR OBSERVATION INSTRUMENT: A METHOD OF DIRECT OBSERVATION FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION1

The background and development of a multicategory direct observation system, the Behavior Observation Instrument (BOI), is described. This time-sampling procedure for recording the behavior of persons is demonstrated in several treatment settings and the results applied to issues of program evaluation. Elements that have prevented direct observation from being widely adopted, such as costs, manpower, and training requirements, are systematically analyzed. A basic psychometric analysis of the instrument is used to determine optimum frequency and duration of observation intervals as well as observer agreement. The results imply that direct observation methods, once assumed by some to belong to the special province of the single-subject design, can be used to assess the effects of programs on groups of psychiatric clients in an efficient and economic manner.